THE ‘big toothy grin’ will remain Brendan Bradley’s lasting memory of Graham Taylor, the late former football manager who died suddenly today.
Taylor (pictured above) passed away, aged 72, after suffering a suspected heart attack.
Bradley played under Taylor for a time at Lincoln City in the early 70s.
Bradley was signed by Lincoln manager David Herd in January 1972, on the back of a recommendation from Jimmy McGeogh.
Herd was sacked in December ’72 and replaced by Taylor, who took over as player-managed, becoming at the time the youngest FA coach at just 27.
[adrotate group=”53″]“Graham was a very good coach,” Bradley remembers.
“He was always into coaching. He was playing at right-back, but he was always into the coaching side of it and that was obvious. He came in and did things differently.
“Graham left nothing to chance. He lived up the street from me and I always remember the big toothy grin when he’d pass by and wave at me.
“Graham was a top coach. He was a good fella too and very friendly. He was always very straight with us as players. He’d tell you what was what and I always found him very nice.”
Taylor later went onto manage Watford and Aston Villa, while he also had a spell as the England manager.
“Graham was very honest with players and he demanded a lot,” Bradley says.
“There was one Saturday where I was suffering from a bad toothache. It was really bad. I called Grahan and he popped up to the house.
“God, he gave me a wild lecture. He said he wanted men to play for him, not cry off with toothache, so away I went and played that day!”
Bradley actually scored in Taylor’s first game in charge, the 2-2 draw away to Newport County, but that would be Bradley’s last goal for the Imps.
Bradley left Sincil Bank in March 1973, returning to Harps, who paid £4,000 for his services having received £6,000 for the striker the previous year.
“I wasn’t really happy at the end and I just wanted to get back and play for Harps,” Bradley says. “ Fran got the money from somewhere and I was back again.
“I made some good friends at Lincoln and got an awful shock today when I heard Graham had passed away. David Herd only died back in October. That’s the two managers I had at Lincoln gone in a couple of months.”
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